Reading

This is the list of the books that listeners to this radio series of interviews are currently reading. Please use the comment box below to add your book(s) or comment if you wish on all these great suggestions!

212 COMMENTS

Street Fighting Years; An Autobiography of the Sixties by Tariq Ali
Well written and engaging story of Ali’s progress growing up as a Marxist in the fledgling country of Pakistan and then becoming a key player in the politics of revolution in Britain during the 1960s and his activism during the Vietnam War. Tells the less publicised side of that struggle.

Have also been reading the Memoirs of Casanova. Super long, but parts are very interesting. To understand Casanova’s beginning as a young priest turned over sexed libertine is worth the one or two dollars in the kindle shop. Also anything by Mary Carr

Reading “Single, Gay, and Christian.” An interesting take and look into what it means to live in these worlds simultaneously, while maintaining your identity in such a way that makes the majority of each group uncomfortable.

In Indian Mexico
A Narrative of Travel and Labor
Frederick Starr
Published in 1908
The book relates the travels by Frederick Starr visiting the Mexican natives of The Southern part of Mexico. His work was to study the physical type of south Mexican indians but it also relates his adventures , the customs of the people and the friendship he enjoyed with some of them.

The Ravenous Raven by Midji Stephenson, illustration by Steve Gray. While preparing for Women As Birds show in January and working on first ever graphic novel, I needed something energetic and fun. The story is a romp through gluttony featuring a smart bird with a big appetite.

“James Wright:A Life in Poetry” by Jonathan Blunk This is a striking biography of Wright, his life, his creative trajectory, and his passionate commitment to his craft. Anyone working in a creative discipline will find deep veins of rich material about living, creating, and devotion to “the work” in these pages. I highly recommend!

I missed this book when it came out 20 years ago but after recently reading Diamant’s “Day After Night,” I wanted more. While not literary fiction, it is lush and full in its poetic use of all the senses–the sounds, sights, touch, tastes, and scents inherent in ancient nomadic desert life–which is enriching my work in the studio each day.

My Current list:
Great book for old masters recipes in all media. I am intrigued by the process behind the paint. Esp the making of the pigments.
The Materials of the Artist and Their Use in Painting: With Notes on the Techniques of the Old Masters, by Doerner, Max
I also am reading this book, to see what I can do myself with materials from my own land.
The Organic Artist: Make Your Own Paint, Paper, Pigments, Prints and More from Nature
Neddo, Nick
Art from my yard is my current focus, and so a book about birch bark plaiting has led the way to some experiments with vessels.
Plaited Basketry with Birch Bark
Yarish, Vladimir
In seeking to understand more about Matriarch vs Patriarch culture and the art that comes from both I am reading this book
The Language of the Goddess: Unearthing the Hidden Symbols of Western Civilization
Gimbutas, Marija Alseikaite
Finally and most intriguing is the study of Object oriented Ontology, with thanks to Bjork and Tim Morton
Ecology without Nature: Rethinking Environmental Aesthetics
by Timothy Morton

For me, I am currently looking at all processes of creating art and any and all avenues to deliver that expression. My main body of concern is the intuitive process in creation, not allowing so much my thinking mind to control, but to let the right brain be free to stumble upon what ever it is that it wants to say. I am always surprised.
I am at one time reading many different books on many subjects, primarily non fiction, nature, animals, history, plants, herbs, healing. This is one that I think is quite interesting at the moment.

I have six books that I have had published. “Cowboy Cartoons by Daryl Talbot”, “Cowboy Cartoons #2”, “Cowboy Cartoons #3”. “Oklahoma Cowboy Cartoons”, “Laughing in Cadence” and “Laughing in Rank and File”. Available at Amazon.

I am leaving the book I wrote, Public Private Relationships and the New Owners of the Means of Production,
The foundation research for this book is years of studying the economic development statutes put into place in Maine since the Longley Doctrine was institutionalized in the late seventies. My book tells many stories of Maine communities ruthlessly exploited by this doctrine which is stated in a nutshell as ” Centrally managing the economy is an essential government function which must be done by public private relationships”
Most of my current reading is a continuation of this research, not exactly books- reading statutes and ordinances, and following through with expanded research into articles, written by others. That takes up a lot of time.

Lillian de Jong, Janet Benton
WWWj.janetbentonauthor.com
True literature and an unforgettable character, deepening your understanding of the mother-child bond and a punishing society whose roots have still not gone away. Enlightening and superbly written.

Cabinet Magazine has a series, Twenty-Four-Hour Book,in ” which an author or artist is “incarcerated in its gallery space to complete a project from start to finish within twenty-four hours.”In this latest, Jeff Dolvin was given a source-text to use one day before-hand:the 1986 catalogue for Braintree Scientific, a company that provides lab equipment for experiments on rats and mice. What resulted is the indelible “Take Take.”

I am also reading Sharon Cameron’s brilliant meditation on creators such as Robert Bresson and Dostoevsky whose orientation challenges and stands apart from the false constrictures of categorization, “The Bond of the Furthest Apart”.

And I’m re-reading Bruno Schulz’s “Sanitorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass.”

But What if We’re Wrong? By Chuck Klosterman. ” …speculates on the likelihood that many universally accepted, deeply ingrained cultural and scientific beliefs will someday seem absurd. Covering a spectrum of objective and subjective topics, the book attempts to visualize present-day society the way it will be viewed in a distant future.” Fascinating, really puts into perspective what is remembered and left out of History

Three Degrees of Latitude: A Curious Guide to the Natural History of the Pehuén (Yes it’s written by my sister Jane Coffey and it’s terrific!
Losing Helen by Carol Becker, (meditations on her mothers passing, sad, funny and wise.)
Empress Dowager Cixi by Jung Chang (It’s a page turner, about an amazing time and person in China’s history)
Men in Dark Times, Hannah Arendt (What can one say, it illuminates in this time)
Olive Kitteridge, Elizabeth Strout
The Return by Hisham Matar (elegiac, a loving portrait of his lost father, country and time)
The Sellout, by Paul Beatty (!!!)
Delacroix’ Journals (somewhat dull but we can ask does the art world really change)
The Hills of Hebron by Sylvia Wynter
(brilliant, wonderful vivid novel ,just read it)

Sven Beckert’s Empire of Cotton: A Global History is one of the most revelatory books I’ve ever read, truly epic.
“Cotton is so ubiquitous as to be almost invisible, yet understanding its history is key to understanding the origins of modern capitalism. Sven Beckert’s rich, fascinating book tells the story of how, in a remarkably brief period, European entrepreneurs and powerful statesmen recast the world’s most significant manufacturing industry, combining imperial expansion and slave labor with new machines and wage workers to change the world.” Cotton manufacturing was the basis for Western industrialization. Much of the foundation of all our wealth today was the capital generated by unpaid labor of slaves.

I recently read the “Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”, by Rebecca Skloot, the true and unjust story of a young black woman whose cells were taken without permission or knowledge for medical research. This book is an incredible account of what happened to Henrietta and her family. It is important to remember her legacy and and recognize the history of her immortal cells..

Reading “Art Objects: Essays on Ecstasy and Effrontery” by Jeanette Winterson. Must reading for anyone trying to approach and understand art of any type.

Quote: “If the obvious direct emotional response is to have any meaning, the question ‘Do I like this?’ will have to be the opening question and not the final judgement. An examination of our own feelings will have to give way to an examination of the piece of work. This is fair to the work and it will help to clarify the nature of our own feelings; … It is right to trust our feelings but right to test them too. … But here we come to the first hurdle of art, and it is a high one; it shows us up.”

Just finished RED: The Art and Science of a Colour by Bucklow Spike; COLLECTED STORIES by Gabriel Garcia Marquez; THE HANDLESS MAIDEN by Mary Elizabeth Perry. Looking forward to THE RIDDLE OF THE IMAGE also by Spike. Not a fan of fiction but Marques was important so when I heard of his passing, I ordered all of his works and so will make them my summer reading….dark choice.

“Selling Contemporary Art: How to Navigate the Evolving Market” by Edward Winkleman 2015

One of my goals as an artist is to secure commercial gallery representation. Now that I’ve had my first solo show at a commercial gallery, I am working to find another, then another. This involves talking to many gallery owners, and I find that having an understanding of the challenges faced by modern gallery owners puts me in a better position to understand THEIR goals and discuss how my work would benefit their program.

Javier Marias- A Heart So White
While reading this book you can feel a dance somewhere. There are moments when i was sure Marias is dancing with me, with my mind. Mostly, I think he is just dancing while writing. Writing is his dance and he is a hell of a dancer. I am grateful to witness this beautiful dynamic.

“Unspeakable”, by, Chris Hedges (cultural critic and author who was a foreign correspondent for nearly two decades for the New York Times). With noble compassion Hedges slays dragons of lies about the political, economic, and psychological ‘terroir’ contemporary artists the world over are steeped in. The truth is daunting but ironically it brings a little relief as you realize that you are not exclusively to blame for your plight. Want a clearer understanding of what you’re in the middle of? Read this book.

I’m reading “Red: The Art and Science of a Colour” by Spike Bucklow
I came across this book near the tail end of producing a series of paintings utilizing primarily the color red. It has been wonderful and interesting to delve into a color and learn of its historical,
scientific and cultural ramifications.

I’m reading The Cross of Redemption which is a compendium of articles, essays and interviews with James Baldwin that for a number of reasons hadn’t already appeared in book form. It was pulled together by Randall Kenon and published a few years ago, 25 years after Baldwin’s death. This powerful voice formed in the crucible of the Civil Rights movement is as poignantly on point today as it was then. It was particularly good for me to read a few interviews from 1980 when I had spent a lot of time with Baldwin in France– it brought his voice and concerns from that year to life again, as surely as if he were sitting across the table, long cigarette dangling from one hand, glass of Johnny Walker and ice waving in the other.

“The ZERO Marginal Cost Society” by Jeremy Rifkin.
This book opens with the premise that the traditional aims and practices of “free market” capitalism and consumerism contain the seeds of its own obsolescence and uses current familiar examples to demonstrate the inexorable movement toward zero marginal costs in energy, transportation, communication, education, and production.
Rifkin points to the Internet of Things, 3-D printing, MOOCS, robotics, as game-changing agents driving us toward a collaborative, open-source revival of the Medieval “Commons” on a globally networked democratized scale…a practical, but optimistic, and inspiring look at a creative future.

“The Three Body Problem” by Liu Cixin. Get ready for the rearrangement of your brain cells. (!)
“The Wall of Storms” by Ken Liu. The second of his Dandelion Dynasty novels, this book measures swashbuckling with intrigue.

“Courage to Create” By Rollo May. Re-Read it while deconstructing the book to collage pages and text on mixed-media paintings for upcoming exhibit – “Navigating the Soul’s Journey”. It definitely gave me the “courage to create” thru the artistic process, personal challenges, hurricane Matthew (I live in St. Augustine, Fl), and daily deluge of despairing news of our troubled world( that I finally limited to very small doses so I could stay spiritually connected in the studo.). FYI. If you have an old copy it may be valuable. I saw one listed for $2000. Mine may have been worth that much. Lol. Now it is a valuable addition under layers of other collage elements, paint, and other media!

I just consumed: Notes from a Minor Key: a memoir of music, love and healing, by Dawn Bailiff. This accomplished, passionate and generous musician, composer, writer offers a generous account of her remarkable life. A surprisingly quick and lush read!

“Everybody’s fool,” by Richard Russo. Folks living in a upstate NY town. Incredible exploration of their interwoven lives along with a dog and a man with the same name as well as police chief who hears voices. Hella good reading

The adventures of Pánfila: The fly-bee Kindle EditionThe Adventures of Panfila is a story that leads to reflection. The book recounts the experiences of immigrants arriving to distant countries who must adapt to new customs and different cultural backgrounds.

Language, beliefs, food, clothing, physical features, the color of skin and eyes, are aspects that identify “the others” in their new environment. In some cases, there are circumstances or elements that lead to the transformation and at the same time, they are essential tools for survival.

I’m currently reading “Ways of Seeing” by John Berger and “The Female Malady” by Elaine Showalter.
The book I’ve read before those was Henry Marsh’s “Do No Harm” – stories of Life, death, and brain surgery.

I can recommend the correspondence between Susan Taubes and Jacob Taubes, 1952. A book by Wilhelm Fink, which gives a great insight as to how it feels to live in the shadow of a successful person. I also love going back to Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s “Letters & Papers from Prison”, which teaches about the simple things one should be grateful for. One of my other favorite books is Nicole Krauss’ “The History of Love”. It’s just beautifully written and shows the importance of love as a driving force.

I also once in a while go back to my own book ‘Women and Art” (2013), which didn’t turn out so well for various reasons, but try to see the good in the bad. Failing is part of life and a learning experience and if the reader can take that with him or her, I’m still happy.

I’m presently reading two Books-
‘The Szasz Quotationary’ editor Leonard Roy Frank.
The book is a sort of compendium of Szasz’s Stand on ‘mental health & illness’ and
the reality tunnels created by psychiatrists, priests, politicians.
He is very much for personal autonomy and libertine philosophy.

The other book I’m reading is
‘The Dawning Moon of the Mind-Unlocking the Pyramid Texts’ by Susan Brind Morrow.
It’ a Brilliant explortion of metaphor, language, poetry and of course the pyramid texts.

A book that resonates so deeply for me. I keep it by my spot at the table to read a few pages while I eat breakfast or lunch these days…helps to ground me and give solace;
“Braiding Sweetgrass” by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Another, because I have aging parents and I want more understanding;
“Being Mortal” by Atul Gawande

I’m re-reading Kandinsky’s “Concerning the Spiritual in Art.” I read as an art student many years ago, and am discovering it fresh with new eyes after years as a working, commited artist.

Also reading again “Special Orders” poems by Edward Hirsch which I won in a poetry competition in John Skoyle’s workshop at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown. Reading this collection once was not enough. Stunning poems.

I read an incredible book recently. “The Art of Rivalry” by, Sebastian Smee. I recommend it to any artist who wants to more clearly understand how deeply artists effect one another. It is an historical analysis and truly brilliant.

Franz was a brilliant poet and translator, my mentor and dear friend, sorely missed. In Franz’s introduction in which he discusses Rilke’s artistic vision, he says, “I think his behavior and statements on artistic practice can be summed up by the words necessity, love, and self-discipline…”

A very interesting book called Manuitius Covenant, The Life and Death of Planet Earth. by Tim Hildebrandt, Randy Handley and Robert price. A realistic fantasy about a possible future that might be preferable to our own.

Learn the true history of truth and history. This is the definitive source on channeling and ancient metaphysical knowledge. There is nothing more paradigm shifting than discovering the RA Material.

Tao Te Ching

This ancient eastern philosophy is the secret to life—it is the manual to all living things. Mysterious as it is beautifully poetic, it has become the guiding manual for all artists even before they have even heard of it. So powerful as it is soft, it’s able to explain everything by saying nothing. You can go your entire life without finding the secret, or read/listen to the Tao while you’re young and realize what you’ve been missing all along.

I am reading “The Dark Valley: a panorama of the 1930s”
Why? I read a lot of things but, with the advent of Trumpian Policy I thought it would be good to understand how the world fell to Fascism in the 1930. Unreal the similarities to today. Learn from your errors. Don’t repeat the past.

“The Blazing World” by Sri Hustvedt,
a fascinating satire/novel about the NY art scene.
A middle aged conceptual artist thinks she would have had success if she were a man.
She tries to prove it by having 3 men present 3 of her works as their own.
The results are not what she expects.
But besides the interesting plot, the story is constructed like a collage.
She challenges the reader to see many viewpoints.
It took me a while to catch on, but then it was a blast.
The characters are terrific.
Not an easy read, but worth it.

Masquerade and Other Stories, Robert Walser (1878 – 1956), John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 1990

Here are two quotes:
“You can’t want to understand and appreciate an art. Art wants to snuggle up to us. She’s so terribly pure and self-satisfied a creature that she takes offence when someone tries to win her over. She punishes anyone who approaches with the intention of laying hold of her. Artists soon find this out. They see it as their profession to deal with her, the one who won’t let anyone touch her.”

and

“Aimlessness leads to the aim, while firm intentions often miss. When we strive too zealously, it may happen that our strivings harm us. I would advise speedy slowness or slow rapidity. Still, advice can’t be more than advice. Be patient, everyone, both with yourselves and with others. Bustling about doesn’t bring any great reward. This much is certain: he who never sets out need never return. Think twice before you get energetic.”

just starting to dip into Cy Twombly, Late Paintings 2003-2011 by Nela Pavlouskova.
Deep into the catalogue from the recent Agnes Martin retrospective.
In my backpack is Louise Bourgeois, the Secret of the Cells, revised and expanded for waiting
and How to be an Explorer of the World, a Portable Art/Life Museum for walks with my husband who has early onset AIDS/HIV Dementia

I am kinda theme reading : TheTales of the Otori-just finished book one: Across the Nightingale Floor (Everyone is an Artist in swordsman, painter, calligraphy on the side of what goes on in their life’s in this story set in Japan. The idea of The Nightingale Floor is a floor that sings when walked upon (creaking wood to sound like birdsong) The story is of the assassin who must walk upon it without making it sing. Stuff of hero films. Also reading some background PDfs on Miyamoto Musashi and Hokusai and Hiroshige: Great Japanese Prints from the James A. Michener Collection As well as watching tons of documentaries and reading some of the primary document source materials given

Reading:
“refractions” a journey of faith, art, and culture Makoto Fujimure essays
THE MOVEMENT (culture care) help connect creatives from different fields so they may design generative collaborations. To continue this emphasis on cooperation, rather than competition, within the creative community.

I have just finished ‘The Sick Bag’ by Nick Cave and ‘The Perpetual Guest’ by Barry Schwabsky.
‘Blind Field’, poems by George Szirtes is next to my bed.
Michel Faber’s, ‘The Book of Strange New Things’ awaits my attention.

The Cantos-Ezra Pound
Une Saison en Enfer & Le Bateau Ivre A Season in Hell and The Drunken Boat-Arthur Rimbaud
Other Arthur Rimbaud poems
The Wasteland and the Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock-T.S. Eliot
Ovid